Each year, our Australia Day Awards recognise the outstanding achievements and significant contributions to AGS by staff across Australia. Recipients of this year's awards follow.
Di Horton, IT Contracts Manager, IT Services – in recognition of her outstanding client service and commitment to AGS.
Tiff Brown, Corporate Communications Production Manager, Client Services – in recognition of her outstanding client service within AGS and to our clients.
Justine Knowles, Senior Executive Lawyer, AGS Dispute Resolution – in recognition of her strategic advice to the Defence Department and the Australian Electoral Commission.
Clare Derix, Senior Executive Lawyer, AGS Commercial – in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the Drought Concessional Loans Scheme and Farm Finance Concessional Loans with Department of Agriculture.
Danielle Gatehouse, Senior Lawyer, AGS Dispute Resolution – in recognition of her professionalism, particularly in coordinating the ACCC unconscionable conduct proceedings against Coles Supermarkets from 2012 until mid-2014.
Matthew Walsh, National Client Service Manager, Australian Taxation Office – in recognition of his outstanding commitment and service to the ATO.
Kathryn Gordon, Senior Lawyer, AGS Dispute Resolution – in recognition of her outstanding work, particularly in coordinating the ACCC unconscionable conduct proceedings against Coles Supermarkets in 2014.
Fiona Dempsey, Senior Lawyer, AGS Dispute Resolution – in recognition of her excellent client service, and her supervision and mentoring of AGS lawyers.
Tony Giugni, Senior Executive Lawyer, AGS Dispute Resolution – in recognition of his outstanding work as Solicitor Assisting the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Dr Genevieve Ebbeck, Senior General Counsel, Office of General Counsel – in recognition of her ongoing outstanding contribution to AGS's immigration advising practice and support to the leadership of OGC.
Teams
Legal Technology Solutions team – Quynh Huynh, Tony Ferguson, Ana Sumanovic, Noel Finden and Ulrich Adami – in recognition of outstanding work and commitment to supporting legal teams.
National IT Service Desk team – Nikki Peever, Antony Spence, Richard Forrest, Moses Choy, Dean Reid, Susan Nguyenand Ryan Andersen – in recognition of outstanding work and commitment to supporting legal teams.
Home Insulation Program team – Tom Howe PSM QC, Damien O'Donovan, Louise Rafferty, Laura Armstrong, Rebecca Daumont, Sam Thorpe, Alison Thompson, Kristy Alexander, Antony Spence and Quynh Huynh – in recognition of their outstanding commitment to service delivery and teamwork in support of government.
Essendon and Hird v ASADA Federal Court team – Craig Rawson, Cherie Canning, Melissa Gangemi, Chris McDermott, Cathy Mayne, Tom Howe PSM QC, Kim Bennett and Justin Davidson – in recognition of the exceptional work in running this significant and high-profile matter in an extraordinarily collegiate way, under enormous time pressures, and delivering an excellent result for our client.
OGC's support staff – Carol Benda, Marilyn Leverink, Jess West, Vicki Cronan, Lydia Dadswell, Noemi Di Giannicola, Erin Kelly, Trang Nguyen, Rosanna Pangallo, Elizabeth Permalloo and Ana Silva – in recognition of their outstanding teamwork and professionalism in providing OGC lawyers with exemplary legal support.
Williams No. 2 team – Guy Aitken, Leo Hardiman, Jenny Burnett, Mark Molloy, Damian Page, Hilary Manson, Bridget Gilmour-Walsh, Tara McNeilly, Robyn Briese, Olivia Abbott, Sam Arnold, Andrew Chapman, Helen Chisholm, Steffen Etherton, Michael O'Rourke and Emilie Sutton – in recognition of their outstanding work in completing 2 tranches of constitutional risk assessments of departmental programs for 15 departments in very tight timeframes in the wake of the High Court's decision in Williams v Commonwealth No.2.
G20 team– Tony Beal, Denise Bond, Kate Brophy, Garth Cooke, Helen Curtis, Katy Grimes, Cathy He, Stuart Hilton, Andrew Miles, Joanna Piva, Phil Sedgley-Perryman, Adrian Snooks, Aleksandra Spasenoska, Lillian Riches, Vlasia Pappas, Michelle Eames, Michelle Rothall, Elena Arduca, Chris Behrens, Melita Parker, Leo Hardiman, Olivia Abbott, Liam Boyle, Adam Cason, Steffen Etherton and Sarah Spottiswood – in recognition for the outstanding support provided to government during the G20 meeting in Brisbane.
Privatisation of Medibank team – John Scala, Garth Cooke, Paul Lang, Stuart Hilton, Brett Gulley, Michelle Eames, Tanya Ferrari, Clare Derix and Kate Brophy – in recognition for the outstanding legal work provided to government in the privatisation of Medibank.
This is an extract from the 2014–15 AGS annual report